Partner Profiles

We have engaged in numerous exciting and productive collaborations with industry partners. Our partnership profiles represent a snapshot of some of our recent projects.

BMW

BMW’s research partnership with Georgia Tech provides new impetus for the company’s production and assembly locations worldwide. The collaboration enables both BMW and Tech to exploit their strengths in engineering and production systems to prepare for increasing internationalization, specifically in the fields of new drive technologies, materials and substances and supply chain management.

Robotics research, especially human-robot collaboration in manufacturing, plays an important role in this partnership, as automation is integral to maximizing efficiency and reducing costs. Tech researchers also contribute to further developments of Mobileye, a unique artificial vision technology that helps drivers by acting as a “third eye,” constantly monitoring objects in front of a vehicle.

Boeing

Boeing consistently recognizes Georgia Tech for its exceptional performance and contributions to the company’s overall success. Tech received a 2012 Boeing Performance Excellence Award, and in 2011, Tech was one of only 16 organizations named a Boeing Supplier of the Year.

As one of Boeing’s eight strategic universities, Tech provides increased knowledge and understanding of ­fluid ­flow, advanced manufacturing technology, design and aircraft technology through basic and applied research. Boeing supports various research activities at Tech related to manufacturing technologies, such as control systems on cranes, mobile platforms and robotics for moving parts in a factory environment and active ­flow control for wing tips.

Numerous professors from College of Engineering, College of Computing, the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute and the Georgia Tech Research Institute conduct research that directly impacts Boeing’s work, including Henrik Christensen, Steve Danyluk, Ari Glezer, Dimitri Mavris, Leon McGinnis and William Singhose.

Google

Thad Starner, a pioneer of wearable computing and a member of the development team charged with creating Google Glass, has been working on the project since its inception.

The glasses-like device includes a tiny computer attached to the right earpiece allowing users to access the Internet, take photos, film videos of the world around them and then broadcast the content in seconds.

Although the product has raised controversy, from privacy concerns to safety issues, Google Glass offers an equal amount of benefits to the ways people may use the device in their everyday lives, including potential applications as assistive devices for those with disabilities such as muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease.

PSA Peugeot Citroën

Known as an OpenLab, Georgia Tech-CNRS (UMI 2958) is one of three academic partners with PSA Peugeot Citroën. Selected for its recognized capabilities in robotics and innovative materials and processes, including nanomaterials, surface treatments and composites, the Materials & Processes OpenLab is coordinated by UMI GT-CNRS and housed in Georgia Tech-Lorraine facilities in Metz, France.

Creation of the OpenLab is part of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s strategic plan to remain on the leading edge of automotive products and services. Research with Tech and its other partners make it possible for the company to explore major themes concerning the future of the automobile and to closely track the latest scientific discoveries worldwide.

Yaskawa Motoman

Working with Yaskawa Motoman, robotics researchers aim to improve the utility and performance of flexible motion systems by enabling high-speed precision manipulation through advanced control methods. To mitigate the undesirable effects of vibration, these systems are often operated well below their capable operating speeds, limiting efficiency and hindering functionality.

IRIM researchers develop new applications for two-armed manipulation systems for manufacturing, logistics and service industries, especially in Robot Operating System (ROS)-Industrial efforts, a free, open-source, BSD-licensed software library that extends the advanced capabilities of the software.